Senior officials and state agencies responded to the attack on a key piece of Russian infrastructure
A view of a bridge linking Crimea to mainland Russia. © vk.com / crimeabadnews / via Globallookpress.com
The Crimean Bridge, which connects the peninsula with mainland Russia, was damaged by a truck explosion and partially collapsed on Saturday morning, causing traffic on the bridge to be halted. The Russian Investigative Committee said that at least three people died in the blast.
The attack occurred amid Russia’s ongoing military operation in Ukraine. Kiev considers Crimea illegally occupied, although in a 2014 referendum in the aftermath of the US-backed coup, the peninsula overwhelmingly voted to leave Ukraine and reunite with Russia. However, the Ukrainian leadership has repeatedly vowed to reclaim control over it and had previously floated the idea of attacking the bridge.
On Saturday, Ukrainian officials and government agencies celebrated the blast, some with memes and tongue-in-cheek references, while others made threats.
Senior presidential aide
Mikhail Podoliak, an aide to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who has previously called the bridge a legitimate target, tweeted that the explosion was “just the beginning.”
He added: “Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine.”
Kiev’s top spy agency
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the country’s main intelligence agency, shared a photo of the damaged bridge and wrote: “The sun is rising, the bridge is burning beautifully.” The phrase is a play on a line from a poem by Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine’s national poet.
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Crimean Bridge explosion: What we know so far
Ukrainian news agency UNIAN quoted a source as saying that the SBU was behind the attack. Spokesman Artyom Dekhtyarenko, however, told UNIAN that the security service would only comment on whether it was involved in the blast “after our final victory.”
Ukraine’s postal service
Ukrposhta, Ukraine’s national postal service, unveiled stamps that it is planning to issue to commemorate the attack. They feature a reference to the 1997 film ‘Titanic’, as well as a Russian road sign with several letters crossed out and replaced to spell ‘Crimean Bridge’ in Ukrainian.
Border guards and emergency service
Ukraine’s border guard service reacted with a picture of a cat looking at a burning frying pan accompanied by a ‘warning’ that it was too “hot” to cross the bridge. The Emergency Service of Ukraine, meanwhile, posted a dog meme, advising the public to “enjoy the exciting footage of the fire on the Crimean Bridge.”
Zelensky’s chief of staff
Andrey Yermak, the head of Zelensky’s office, tweeted an emoji of a bridge submerged in water and wrote: “What a beautiful sunny day.”
Kiev’s top security official
Aleksey Danilov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, took an apparent jab at Russian President Vladimir Putin, who turned 70 on Friday. Danilov posted a video of the aftermath of the explosion juxtaposed with the iconic clip of actress Marilyn Monroe singing ‘Happy Birthday, Mr. President’ for US President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
